Others Like Me
by Lalaliz
Summary: On Hiatus. Ichigo gets an unexpected summons from Soul Society. What do they need him for in a Captain's meeting? Wait, what if he did something wrong? Oh crud. *Very lightly suggested Ichiruki if you squint* *I only own the OC's*
1. An announcement

It took Ichigo a few minutes to take in this new information. He began by showing off a multitude of emotions new to his face and enough changing colors in his cheeks fit to complete an art class color wheel. In a minute, he pushed the words "What do you mean by that?" out of his mouth.

It was something new to everyone to see Ichigo like this. He wasn't usually so flustered. His eyebrows were often knit together above thin light brown eyes. Always so serious, but he had a strong sense of right and wrong and had resolve of steel. Still most people thought of him as scary at first glance. Many rumors had spread around school that his spiked red-head wasn't natural and that he had been bleaching it before grade school.

He wasn't in school right now, but he was, he could guarantee several mouths agape. He stood in a room with no window and one door that led both in and out. To make up for the lack of sunlight, blazing torches ran all along the four bare walls and it still was just barely enough to see the ten other women and men standing around him, for the room was a large one. There was little decoration save for half a dozen pillars and a throne atop three small steps.

Most assumed the steps were placed for the safety of Head Captain Yamamoto who was sitting in it at the moment. The Head Captain was getting older by the day. His back was already bending out of shape, he required a walking stick and his squinted eyes continued to add wrinkles to his elderly face, but the large x-shaped scar on his bald head wasn't something from tripping over his lengthily, white facial hair. Although, one could've easily done it by simply dressing as he did. Socks and a pair of straw sandals didn't help on smooth surfaces and his large black kimono was practically dragging across the ground. If that, with his white hoodless cloak, did nothing to his coordination, then it at least made him feel uncomfortable in the summer.

He might gave seemed even more ridiculous had everyone else in the room not been dressed exactly the same with swords at their sides in place of his staff. Ichigo was the only one dressed slightly differently. He didn't have the white cloak everyone else did, and his sword was far too big for a sheath. Instead, he kept it wrapped in one long piece of inch-wide cloth and tied to his back. The only reason he wasn't in possession of the white garment, was because it was the mark of a Soul Reaper Captain, a highly prestigious and sought after honor with heavy responsibilities in tow. All of which, were abandoned by the captains of squads three, five and nine for power they thought could be more easily reached by joining their enemies, the hollows. I didn't help the morale of their former comrades when they achieved that power. All that they needed was a paperweight-like object known as the Hougyoku. Appearances are quite deceiving as it can dissolve whatever barrier exists between the Soul Reapers and hollows.

Usually, it was required of one to hold the rank of captain before attending a meeting in this room. So Ichigo was caught off guard when he was called here by the Covert Ops. He wasn't even an actual Soul Reaper. Everyone else here acquired their abilities when they came here to the Soul Society. Ichigo's talents appeared much earlier when he was in the real world and met one of them named Rukia Kuchiki. She elaborated to him that it was her job to protect the ghosts that only Ichigo was able to see and protect them from the very hollows that the three traitor captains had teamed up with.

Ichigo soon found out the meaning behind the summons when the Head Captain bluntly explained, "There are people in your world who became one of us the same way you did."

All Ichigo could do was stare at each person aided by torch-light in such a mannerism that probably wouldn't have changed much if they all grew an extra head on the spot.

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My first story! I'm feeling great about this one. Watch for chapter 2 and please review

Thanks XXXX::::::::::::::


	2. Tomorrow Morning

A few minutes later, Ichigo was dismissed from the building, but it didn't help him much. Everything made him feel like he wasn't really there, like he was watching another guy blank out. He was just a plane on autopilot.

The farther he went, the better his view became of two boys and two girls near the horizon hiding behind rising waves of heat: his friends. They had been sitting down this entire time just waiting for the end of the meeting so it was a mixture of concern for his wellbeing and boredom of waiting for hours.

Even though they were all in the same grade save for one of the girls, one of the boys seemed much older, mostly because of his tall stature and serious expression. He always had his brown, curly hair over his eyes. His real name was Yasutora, but no one except relatives ever called him that. To everyone else, he was Chad. Fearsome as one might picture him, he had promised many years ago to never fight just because.

Chad kept himself quiet, but Uryuu didn't, "What did they want?"

Uryuu seemed especially cold today. Brows knit together and everything. Ichigo was still amazed at how he kept his white clothes in such a clean state all the time. That color was the only thing he ever wore not counting his glasses and black hair, but his face definitely qualified. As reserved as he sounds, he has a few quirks. Being the president of the sewing club in school is one of them.

Orihime, one of the girls, had hair that was slightly darker than Ichigo's but much longer, rolling all the way down her back and held neatly by two blue-green hairpins in the shape of six-petaled flowers. Her brother had given her those pins when she was just a little girl, then died in a car crash that same day, but she was still the same sun-shiny person from before that. She could keep anyone on their toes.

"I bet they wanted to talk about some serious business that only we could take care of, with adventure and damsels in distress and monsters. I'm getting excited just thinking abou- What's the matter Ichigo? You seem out of it." Her wide eyes staring back at him.

"Orihime's right. You look awful."

That was Rukia, a Soul Reaper like the ones from the meeting, but she didn't have a captain level like them. She wasn't a seated officer either, but that was only because her adoptive brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, had forbidden it. Being a seated officer would mean more dangerous missions and as head of the Kuchiki family, one of the four great noble families, and the captain of squad six, he had the influence to keep it that way and protect his little sister. Rukia herself was considerably small in stature yet managed to keep Ichigo in line when needed, which was enough proof that she had skills. Her hair was short, black and some of it was hanging down the center of her face.

Rukia was the reason that they were all here. She was the first domino, the spark that started the wildfire, the last flakes that gave way to an avalanche. It was her who gave Ichigo his Soul Reaper powers, with which he was punching hollow-face in left and right. Before the two knew it, being around Ichigo's friends had given Chad and Orihime their own hollow-fighting abilities. Uryuu was already learning to exterminate hollows, but he never would have gotten involved with any of them if Rukia didn't meet Ichigo.

Taking a deep breath in he began, "There have been findings in the Department of Research and Development. Last night, there were readings off the charts of spiritual pressure scattered in these pinpoints all over the world of the living. When they brought the data to the Head Captain, he had some units sent to each point for investigation; they paged Soul Society back with reports of people turning into Soul Reapers literally overnight," here, gasps could have been collected from a few "I know. Seven total. After a bit, they convinced each one to come to Soul Society, some more than others."

No one spoke for a while until Uryuu raised a question, "You said they were finding these readings worldwide, right?"

"Yeah?"

"How were they able to communicate? They were probably speaking different languages."

"They were. The Department of Research and Development made a band-aid for that. They come in little pills and only last a few minutes, but they work."

"Did brother have anything to say?" Rukia inquired.

"Oh yeah," Ichigo said with a little contempt, "He had something to say. But I didn't like it."

"If I could interrupt," Chad began. "Didn't Captain Ukitake say something about this? That there have been other Substitutes?"

"Never like this there weren't. The cause was totally different."

"Wow! They sound so mysterious! Don't you think so?"

"Well, we'll find out tomorrow. The Head Captain requested that me, you and Chad come since been through the same shock of discovering this place," He pointed to Rukia and said," You was originally just coming with your squad as another Soul Reaper welcoming them in, but they debated it and decided that you're going to train them. Your welcome to come too Uryuu."

"Why not? This could be interesting."

* * *

Chapter Two! I'm so glad I got the time to put this together!

Enjoy and please review! ^_^


	3. Honored Guests

The weather was warm and welcoming that morning, like it had prepared for this very moment. For the Soul Society, it wasn't as _though_ they had, they did. All of the thirteen squads were gathered at the main gate and a soft murmur was settling over the crowd which was full of excitement for their mystery guests.

Ichigo and his friends were mingled into the mass, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. The Soul Society had never done anything like this for him or his friends. On top of that, it was a school day and he had to get up early for this event. Major as it was, he had been here for hours and he was dead tired.

Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, the gate opened for two Soul Reaper escorts and a boy of about Ichigo's age with a white sweatshirt or, at least, it used to be trudged in. Immediately, every squad applauded. His hair was dyed light blue and kept in a shape that reminded Ichigo of a streamlined bike helmet. His sword stood out just like Ichigo's did since it was in its first stage of release: shikai. It was two thin swords joined at the hilt and he wore a smile that was obviously forced. It didn't want to be on his face and he didn't want to be here. He looked so downcast.

Following directly behind with more escorts, was a girl of about the same age. Her hair was a dark, tightly curled brown with eyes to match under thin rectangular glasses. She was wearing a pair of bright white pants with a red belt and v-neck top of the same color. Her particular sword didn't resemble a sword so much as all the others. Hers was like wearing the gauntlet on a suit of armor, except it ran all the way up her arm and the side facing everyone was sharpened like an axe. She, in contrast seemed excited to finally arrive. She walked in strides and her smile had meaning.

More escorts walked in and a small boy, no more than ten by Ichigo's guess, peered around the side and nervously shuffled in. His hair was comparable to that of Chad's except he made an effort to keep it out of his face along with a baseball cap on top. He reminded Ichigo of all the boys his little sister played soccer with. He had a yellow backpack slung over his shoulders and a sword sticking out of it. He could only see the hilt of it, but he could already tell that the design was something different by how it resembled a cross shape that the knights of Medieval England bore.

Everyone's attention was brought right back as the next proceeded in. This time, it was a tall woman with long, straight black hair wearing a navy blue sweater and an intricately designed steel mace loosely held in her right hand. Her eyes were a soft amber color that seemed to lull the observer into serenity. Ichigo wasn't quite sure what to think about her, but he could draw that she did have some strength to haul that weapon around with little effort.

The next two came as a pair and everyone knew why: fraternal twins. A boy and a girl with light blonde, shaggy hair and vibrant green eyes. They both had on ski caps knit gray and the same green flannel shirts with rolled up sleeves and baggy pants. What was caught by everyone's attention first, even more than their extra long quarterstaves, were their aprons. They were dark blue and had a gold star sewn on the front with the two bottom tips curved like they were wearing elf shoes.

The two guards at the gate closed it once everyone had arrived and the new substitutes gathered in the center facing the Head Captain who raised an eyebrow in confusion. Everyone else seemed uneasy.

Rukia looked at all the newcomers intently before murmuring to Ichigo, "Wait, didn't you say that there were going to be seven?"

A little vein showed in his forehead, "Crud, that's just great."

* * *

Finally finished! It's midnight now, so I'm just going to crash now and think about my next piece.

Please enjoy and review ^_^


	4. Hide and Seek

"Dang, I'm already in enough trouble as it is with my teachers. I don't need being late to top it off," Ichigo complained.

"Don't get impatient Ichigo. We need to make this search thorough. Coming back without the other substitute is not an option," Rukia reminded him.

Ichigo had really worked himself up this time. Not even the calm of the sunrise was doing anything for him. Once the squads realized that the seventh was missing, they decided that the captains and their lieutenants shouldn't go because they already had their schedules filled with managing the squads and that the squad members were already all assigned stations in the world of the living. Besides that, all that needed to be done was find the stubborn guest that didn't want to leave their world. It didn't take everyone long to volunteer Ichigo's service. The mission was a simple one and even if it got complicated, if Ichigo was able to fight off multiple captains and lieutenants, he could handle a few hollows. Without much choice he left, but his friends offered to go with.

"We should split up, we'll cover more ground faster," Uryuu said. "It's going to be hard enough combing through the area for one person, and we have the other six waiting for us already."

"That should do nicely," Rukia complimented him. "I'll go to the north of here. Chad you check the east, Orihime can go south, Uryuu will go west and Ichigo can watch from the skies right here. Fair enough?"

"Fine," Ichigo grumbled. How boring was this?

* * *

"Dang it," she barely dared whisper. "Those guys were getting annoying. Can't they take a hint?" She'd been running for hours. Ducking into alleyways, slipping in and out of shadows, it was nothing new to her. She was just naturally an unnoticed person, but her pursuers had something different about their hunting tactics. No matter where she dodged, they always seemed to find her in half the time that most would. Like there was a flashing, neon sign that pointed right at her.

Once she had rested herself for a few minutes, she began her evasive tactics again. She had been hiding herself in the crawlspace of an abandoned home and silently prayed for more time to think about her next move. Maybe she could go from this place to the shed out back and then to the empty parking lot down the street. The strip mall there hadn't had a paying customer since Alain Poher was President of the French Senate. But here, it was just the Senate. She had been inside that store before and it was perfect. Surely, no one could find her there.

She could crawl through the window. Yes, that would do just fine. She carefully unhooked the simple latch, trying not to agitate it so it didn't complain back with squeaking rusted hinges. Good. No one was in sight from the window view. She just needed to run a few hundred yards and she would be home free.

The occasional car whipped by down the street with headlights lit like a roaring animal. It made her jump each time. She had very good reason to do so, too.

Maybe they weren't following her anymore. Maybe they had given up for the time being. That would have been a luxury she would gladly pay for. Although, now she didn't need it. She had the sanctuary of the old store. She loved hanging out here. It was one the only places she could hide in perfectly. Well, that's what she thought.

_Slam!_ The door flung wide open.

"So, you're the one that everyone's looking for, huh?" A gruff male voice called out. "You have been giving me a lot of grief today you know that? It's a good thing you haven't learned any speed enhancing techniques. I never would have seen you running otherwise."

With the light shining in through the window, it was easier to see the girl. Or, at least, what she was letting people see. She had short, ratty, black hair that stuck in unwashed, unbrushed clumps covering her face from the nose up with her bangs. She wore a long, sleeveless coat colored tan that dragged over the ground so much that it was nearly destroyed at a nonexistent hem. Two bare, callused feet hung out from the bottom and only reached halfway to the ground from the chair she sat in momentarily relaxing beforehand, she was that young.

She could see the man pretty clearly too with his bright orange hair. He had that same uniform on as the other two from before, but his sword was way more massive. She immediately didn't like him.

"It's not safe to wandering around places like this. Where are your esco-"

"Ditched 'em," she muttered back with a rebellious hint to her voice.

Ichigo didn't like her attitude either. "Look, we need to get you back to Soul Society. We can't exactly return empty handed."

"Tough."

He glared at her for a few seconds before scooping her up in one hand as though she were potatoes in the sack she was wearing and pushing the door open in the other. "Same to you." In a flash, they were gone with the girl protesting and flailing the entire time. Not exactly her smartest move. Two hundred feet it not a safe height to drop someone from.

* * *

Finally finished! Sorry for the wait. New family rule: I can only publish on "no school days".

Please enjoy and review! ^_^


	5. Who are You?

"Put me down!"

"Shut up already! Just be glad that I haven't yet!"

"I don't care! I'll just stick the landing!"

It had been hours since Ichigo had picked up this brat and, quite frankly, he was thinking about complying to her requests of dropping her the two hundred feet they had risen, but if he did, he would have the Head Captain to answer to. He would just have to endure it until everyone else showed up. But what if they never did? They never agreed on a meeting time or place. There wasn't even a way to signal them. Only Rukia could agree to splitting up to find this kid without giving everyone something like a flare gun if they found her. She didn't even think to specify a meeting point as a backup plan. That's when he remembered that he didn't add anything when they were all still together, so he was just as guilty as her. Stupid him. Stupid, dead-tired him.

"There she is! Thank goodness we found you!"

"Huh?"

That was Hanatarou, the seventh seat of squad four who had been previously acquainted with Ichigo under unusual circumstances. Being small in stature, meek and panicked if properly provoked, made the black-haired boy and easy target to poke some fun at. So why was he all the way out here? Moreover, why was he all the way out here with a gruff red-haired gu- oh. That was the lieutenant of squad six, Renji, an old friend of Rukia who worked under her older brother, Captain Kuchiki. He kept his hair spiked like Ichigo's and held back in a ponytail so you could easily see that his forehead had been heavily tattooed with black, symmetrical patterns. They must have been the kid's escorts. The other Soul Reapers were always pushing jobs on squad four members so it made some sense that Hanatarou would be here. Maybe they added Renji in just to balance everything out the difference in strength, but that wasn't giving Hanatarou very much credit. He was very skilled in the healing arts, that's why he was on squad four in the first place, no one there was ever thoroughly trained in combat.

"I was never here," the girl sharply whispered, trying to duck behind Ichigo and out of sight of the other two.

"Don't be ridiculous. I can see you wanting to hide from Renji, but Hanatarou? You have to understand that we're not here to hurt you, we're here to help you."

"He's right," Hanatarou agreed. "We just want to help make sense of all the confusion that's been going on lately."

"I don't want your help and I don't want to live there!"

"Live there?" Ichigo blankly repeated. "Geez, we're just trying to help. You can go home after introductions and come visit us just about any time."

"This guy was new to this entire thing once," Renji butted in. "He and few of his friends are going to walk you right through everything."

Ichigo didn't exactly know what word he should be using to describe the little girl's expression, but it looked to him like she was really embarrassed about her little protests based on her half-pout. It looked to him like he had hit the source of her dramatic annoyance with him and his friends right on the target. So the real problem was that she didn't want to leave her home. Well, now that that was taken care o-

_ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!_

"Oh crud," he said aloud. "Ummm. . . what was your name?"

"Sheep-dog."

He tried to hold back a little giggle that threatened to explode on him. Even if the name did make some sense with hair smothering her face, what sort of parent would have put that on a birth certificate, for reasons other than a fit of humor? "I'm Ichigo. Hanatarou, you take Sheep-dog back to Soul Society. Me and Renji'll stay here and take care of whatever it is."

"Who put you in charge?" Renji asked.

Ichigo turned around to answer back, but instead, he gasped inwardly at the Menos Grande that were staring at him eye-level with expressionless faces fixed in place. He could only imagine what these towering hollows were thinking under their masks.

* * *

*Dramatic Music* Chapter 5!

Enjoy and please review! ^_^


	6. Assistance

When the girl first arrived, she didn't receive the explosive greeting that the others did. It felt like the opposite of a celebratory cacophony. If the reaction she got was that of a sigh of relief, then the words "Menos Grande" turned it to an inward gasp like a magic spell, then again, so was the word "Quiet!" when it came from the Head Captain's mouth.

"Tell us, Hanatarou, how many Menos were there?"

"Four, sir."

"Is that a difficult number for the Substitute and a Lieutenant to handle?"

"No, sir."

"Then worrying will do nothing for them, nor will help be needed."

* * *

"Aaaaaagh!" was what resonated in waves that were too conflicted whether to get as far away as possible from the battle or stick around for the entertainment. With a sight as unusual as this, most would stay as both sides piqued their interest. Both were forces to be reckoned with. One, cretinous giants with expressions that never changed and barely a brain to command them; the other, a teenage boy with exceptional abilities but minimal experience using them and his ally of great talent and reckless spirit.

Ichigo could feel inertia straining to hold back what momentum he had while attempting to bring Zangetsu down on where the Menos's brow would have been. He could feel a jolt through his body as he made contact, but what was missing was the feeling akin to that of one running a dull Swiss army knife through a piece of poster-board: difficult to control and not a very clean cut, but doable with strength. In place of the sensation, the Menos swung its head in fury at its minor irritation and its elongated nose connected with his side like a racket might smack a tennis ball.

For a moment, it was nothing. It felt someone was slowly pushing their hand against where he had been dealt the blow until it began to feel like that hand was warm and wet. Before he realized it, he had lost both his footing and sense of direction. He was sinking in a sea without water. Sound, scent, touch, and taste became imaginary then non-existent to him as sight slowly joined them. No. He _hadn't_ been hit, Renji _wasn't_ shouting "Ichigo" in his shock, Rukia and Uryuu _weren't_ running to catch him.

* * *

"Hey, Hanatarou?"

"Y-yes, Sheep-dog?"

"Is Ichigo going to be okay?"

Well, this was a real change of character. This little girl who had previously reenacted the famed scene of King Kong capturing the leading lady was worried about that same "monster ape".

"He'll be just fine," the boy tried to calm her little nagging fear. "Ichigo is one of the strongest people I know and those Menos are going to be no problem for him. I guarantee that by the end of today, he'll be right back to give you the grand tour."

* * *

"Is he going to be okay?" Rukia nervously questioned Orihime, afraid that if she asked the wrong thing, she would jinx it.

All the while, Orihime studiously concentrated on the injury. "Don't worry, it won't take long to fix something like this, but he's broken some ribs and fractured others. He's really going to have something to wince at when he comes to." Immediately, she set to work focusing all her thoughts on the area that needed her attention as it was encased in a light that reminded one of a glowing piece of melting glass. One could already see it taking effect as blood slowed its escape of his body.

Rukia let all the air out of the breath she was holding as did Chad and Uryuu. She felt so relieved. But what was she expecting? This was the guy who had saved _her_ from the very organization she stood for. It was like he could withstand anything and everything. So why was he taken down like that by such an easy opponent? Menos Grande were nothing to be underestimated, but no great threat to a person like Ichigo. Whatever the reason, she wasn't going to let Renji suffer the same.

"Renji! Get yourself out of there!" She hollered at him in hopes that he would hear her over his on battle cries. "We're going to retreat and get someone else to come!"

"Are you crazy?! No way am I leaving!"

"Renji you've seen what these things can do! Something is not right! Let's just go back and we'll have someone else come to help!"

"If there _is_ something wrong here, which there _is_, then we should stop it here!"

"Man's gotta point Rukia," Ichigo said constrainedly only allowing himself a muffled cough at the end.

"Ichigo!"

"Don't you think it's a bit much to expect that four weapons of mass destruction sit quietly in a town as big as this? Besides that, we have a Substitute from this place, so doesn't make sense to protect our own?" The effort in finishing that last sentence was apparent.

Rukia quickly became fascinated with her feet but only for a moment until she took a breath in and out her mouth that was only slightly audible. "Alright, you just relax and I'll show you how it's done."

* * *

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LATE!

but I still got it done! FINALLY!

*dies of exhaustion*

Please enjoy and review! ^_^


	7. Introductions

It felt calming just to be in this area where everything was soft: the ground below her feet, the wind that was happy and energized just enough to dance ballet, even the emotions of the people here were much more placid. They just sat here waiting patiently with sagacious looks on their faces like they were doing it their whole life. She just supposed that the six people felt like they were going to be here for a considerable amount of time before things got exciting and they might as well not make it difficult for everyone else. Being the one that stalled this whole affair had made Sheep-dog feel somewhat guilty about making the others all sit in this "training ground", as the others called it, until any feeling of every part of their body had become ponderous with simple but several weights of boredom.

"The others". . . She was somewhat relieved to be able to think that, after having to spend time with these weirdos. She had such a profusion of questions ready to burst whatever container they were being kept in: "How did these people organize everything?" "What exactly do these people do that's so important?" "If this is something that she was so closely connected to, then why did she get this feeling that she was being ostracized?"

She could see them just sitting there with either detached and nonchalant expressions or ones of ecstasy.

"So you must be our little fugitive then?" questioned the lady with the ice-eyes before Sheep-dog had collected herself.

"Huh?"

The boy wearing the filthy sweatshirt gave an awkward smile and attempted to make some conversation, "Ya know, cause you didn't show up to th-"

"Yeah, I got that." She didn't feel the need to look at anyone as she said it. Apparently the little flower by her right foot was a better listener in her opinion.

"Weeeeeeeeell, _someone's_ not happy," The girl with brown curls had added in a sing-song voice.

"Of course I'm not."

"What do _you_ have to be upset about?" the boy with the backpack had inquired.

"You."

"Well, that's not offensive." This time coming from the female of the twins. It was absolutely saturated with sarcasm.

"It's not you guys necessarily that I have a problem with," she added on. "It's the way that you're handling this," this time facing the first who had spoken.

"Huh?"

"How can you get so excited or feel so neutral about something that could be absolutely dangerous? It makes me so angry that you could just blow off something like it's just nothing when. . . when it scares _me_."

"Really? Well it scares me too," the other blond spoke up.

What kind of enigma had he just thrown at her? He might as well have given her one of those puzzles from the Sunday paper except without the clues.

Inserted here were an assortment of "me too"s and "I feel the same".

"Well, if you're so scared, then why lie about it?"

"We're not lying," the small boy tried to explain. "We want to make the best of this, and being afraid was keeping us from doing that. I used to be just plain paralyzed with it, but then it was just a burden that I wanted to get rid of."

She couldn't think of anything to say. Her canvas was blank and her attic was empty. So what now?

"You don't have to be so fearful if you don't want to," the sweat-shirt guy added.

"We're all in the same boat so we should be taking care of each other, right?" suggested the girl in red.

Well, at least this gave her an idea of what she could say. Taking care of each other, huh? That was the most comforting thing she had heard all day. If this is was really a dream, it would be one of the ones that we all try to resume once we have woken up.

"I don't think that I've actually introduced myself, have I?"

* * *

I have absolutely no idea why this took so long

It still fails

On the bright side, 1000+ hits! YES! THANK YOU!

Please _try_ to enjoy and constructive criticism is nice ^_^u


	8. Claire

Being in this "training ground" was definitely going to become one of their favorite memories. They began swapping stories, telling favorite jokes, and coming up with their own explanations to this place. They were just trying to make sense of why their escorts needed butterflies with them when a voice behind them said "I can see that _someone's_ feeling better" and made Sheep-dog let a startled squeak loose.

The boy in the sweat-shirt, who was laying on his back next to her, looked up at the voice's origin. "I remember you. You guys were in the crowd when we first came here, right?"

"Glad you remembered. I'm Ichigo and this is Rukia, Orihime, and Chad," the three took turns identifying themselves when their names were called with a nod or short wave. "We've been asked to help you get a better understanding of who we are."

She put on her best cover not to look to relieved, "So, the almighty hero returns. How was your fight? Bring back a head to hang in your cave?"

She would have continued, but Ichigo was furiously signaling her to stop talking. Too late.

"What do you mean 'how was your fight'?" It was the lady with the gung-ho attitude interrogating her.

"Is something going on?" the small boy nervously asked.

"It's nothing," Rukia tried to soothe their fears. "We just had to take care of a common Soul Reaper responsibility, which makes a good place for us to start. There are two kinds of souls in this world. . ."

No, it wasn't nothing. There was something very wrong. Something was different.

* * *

Gathering in the room usually reserved for the captains, all captains and lieutenants had appointed other seated officers to handle things while they were gone. Whatever news had been brought back from the world of the living was of the utmost priority.

"How exactly have they changed, Lieutenant Abarai?"

"They have raised their levels of attack and defense dramatically, Sir."

"But they are still defeatable?"

"Only with several strong Soul Reapers compared with the one that it used to take."

If the Head Captain was in any way astonished, he was able to conceal it exceptionally well. "And there is nothing to identify these new menos from the others?"

"Not that we noticed, Sir."

The twelfth squad captain took the opportunity to butt in. "What about samples? Did you take any samples?"

He was unaware of it, but the Lieutenant had a vein threatening to pop in the back of his head. He faked a smile through gritted teeth as every word threatened to betray the sound of grinding molars. "No, that wasn't on our list of things to do exactly, Captain."

"_Tch_, how disappointing. Why did I ever even entertain the idea of leaving things to you barbarians? Nemu."

"Yes, Master Mayuri?"

"Examine them."

"Yes, Master Mayuri."

Before they could do anything about it, she had collected their swords and had successfully located a small stain of blood on Sode no Shirayuki. It was a thin layer and had already dried so it was bound to be of little use. The captain still insisted on storing it in a test tube for "further analysis as a means of data collection and for verification of future alleged samples", whatever that meant.

Captain Kyoraku halfheartedly raised his hand and, before he received any acknowledgment, began speaking, "If I could get you to draw your attention back to the matter at hand, Captain Kurotsuchi, would you mind lending us that brain of yours to figure this out?"

"If I had answers to everything, then I would have told you already."

Ichigo had a feeling that if even if he had any idea, he would taunt them, calling them all inferior to his "intellectual might", long before he relinquished anything. Lo and behold, he went into a rant that would be most likely paraphrased as, "You're all idiots. I can't believe I work with you. I'd rather have the menos, because at least they can obey orders. This suggests that the menos are being controlled." Of course, this is without collegiate dictionary terms.

* * *

By the end of Rukia's lecture, names had been passed around as a note between friends during class would. The small boy with the baseball cap looked at his left knee when Ichigo asked for his name and mumbled something like, "Danio". The lady with the placid face was called Jaylin and "No, that is not a nickname". The guy with the filthy sweat-shirt, Fujita, explained that he spent most of his time outside and preferred not to hide the grass stains with dark cloth like he was ashamed. The "Mary-Sue" prefered "Suzette". The twins, Lyn and AJ, looked like they were prepared to switch names to confuse them. They might have been able to get away with it before, but Lyn had eyeliner.

"And this is Claire," Fujita jumped in. He noticed that the girl with the sack wasn't really participating in intro's, so he felt that Ichigo might as well have something to call her by if anything. It was the exact wrong thing to say.

Ichigo could feel his eyebrows getting closer together. With whatever willpower he had left, he kept his voice calm enough to strain the words, "Well, Claire, that's a nice name. Welcome to Soul Society," from a profusion of alternate phrases. '_I guess this means she's still uncomfortable with the whole thing'_.

* * *

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I'm SO late with this!

It's not even all that good. . .

In other news, I have completed my first one-shot "Hunt of the Salamander", which is Fairy Tail related.

The problem is, my little brother doesn't think that it should be a one-shot while I like it the way that it is.

We eventually agreed to let you all decide for us.

If ten people add "Hunt of the Salamander" to their "alert list", and at least one person leaves a review for the story saying that they think I should, then I will.

The deadline is March 31

Enjoy and please review ^_^


	9. Like a Duck

In comparison to the training grounds, this place made her feel like she was suffocating, there wasn't much in the way of nature, and she couldn't tell which turns they made to get here because it all looked the same. But, hey, it reminded her of home. The architecture probably fascinated her the most. How did they keep all these white buildings so clean all the time? She wasn't familiar with any of the Japanese kanji either, so she couldn't even tell what squad area they were in.

"And these are the barracks, _Claire_. And that is where Central 46 is, _Claire_. And, if you look way out into the distance, you can see a wall that separates the Seireitei from all the districts where souls live. Isn't that right, _Claire_?"

"Alright! So the first one I gave you was fake! But don't tell me that you didn't get a kick out of it. I saw you ready to laugh in the World of the Living."

By the time she had stopped, everyone's hearts did. "No way Ichigo!" Rukia couldn't take it in. "You were laughing at something?"

"He makes the freakiest noises when he does. It reminds me of a mutant duck being strangled."

Orihime tried to picture something along the lines of it and put it into sound, "You mean like this? _Quuuuaaaaaeeeekkkugh!_"

"Claire" made a little hum while she compared the two, "Pretty close but not shrill enou-"

"Alright. One, I don't sound anything like that! Two, I wasn't actually laughing! And three, where did you hear or even see a strangled mutant duck?"

He never found out. Like a crossing guard stopping cars, Lyn had her hand raised, if you can call something as limp as that "up in the air", in need of an answer. She didn't need them to say anything first. She didn't even wait for them to look, "There were a handful of people dressed in white robes on top, right? Is that an honor or are those little signs on their backs targets?" She gave a little grin to it, trying to signal that she had attempted a joke.

It didn't quite reach Rukia though, "You must be talking about white Captain robes. They aren't something to be taken lightly, Lyn. It's a great position that comes with power, respect, responsibility and required devotion to the squad you are put in charge of."

"I see. Good afternoon Captain."

"Captain" had come like a flame to a candlewick: silently, barely noticeable, but found when searched for. Long black hair had been held back in, if the Substitutes didn't know any better, what looked like a barrette. He seemed much too serious to wear something so feminine and childish. The scarf, however, was throwing them off.

"Good afternoon Brother."

"Hey Byakuya. What are you doing here?"

"I believe that I should be asking you that considering these are my squad's barracks. Also, it is only proper that you add 'Captain' in front of my 'family name'." Each word was slow and deliberate as though he doubted Ichigo could keep up if it was any faster. His superior attitude made it look like he was talking down to him even more.

Trying not to disturb their flow of conversation, the seven, Orihime and Chad began their own little discussion.

"That's her brother, huh?" Jaylin opened the topic.

"They do look a bit alike," Danio commented.

Orihime nodded in agreement while saying, "It's a real coincidence since they're not even related."

Suzette had her head cocked to the side, "Huh?"

"She's adopted," Chad noted when he found a point to say something.

"They like messing with Ichigo too much to _not_ be related," A.J. tried to joke.

"I guess I can see a difference," Fujita admitted while looking over to Ichigo.

He was twitching a little while Rukia had a contrasting grin and exaggerating gestures to the captain with face unchanging. Whatever the captain said next had hardly made him look any different but Ichigo was a different story. He was shouting loud enough for the old Central 46 members to hear, "I was not!"

* * *

"Oh that's just great! If they're going to be in someone else's barracks, they should have some respect." Renji had been working at his desk for hours and couldn't take this distraction. Mostly, he was grateful to get an excuse to leave. "Let's just see what this is all about."

* * *

"Yo, Rukia! Ichigo!"

Rukia was more than happy to talk, but Ichigo just stood there scowling, "Hi Renji! What are you doing?"

"I _was_ doing paperwork, but then there was some shouting. What does Ichigo have to be ticked about?"

"He's just mad because I found out that he laughed."

"You mean when we were in the World of the Living and he made that duck noise?"

"That's the one."

"You should have been there, it had this strangled sound to it at the end."

"Oh, for the love of crud!"

* * *

Normally, I don't like to use character abuse, but when I started thinking about how OOC chapter 5 was for Ichigo, I couldn't resist.

This isn't quite as long as I would like but I'm having trouble piecing the next part I planned together, so that will come next. When it does, it will be 1200+ words long. *Pinky Swear*

2000+ hits! YES! Thank you sooooo much!

Enjoy and please review ^_^


	10. Challenge

**Before I start, I would like to personally thank Fricai Skulblaka, BadyGuz, Tango Dancer, Aftonen, HitsuLove, Snoara, and Mad as the Mad Hatter for their reviews. I appreciate all of your feedback and would like to let you know that I listen to every one that you leave.**

* * *

After storming away from Renji in a furious rage, Ichigo could sense the cold feeling coming to his ears where steam was previously blasting out. It was the way one thinks the bathroom is freezing after they take a hot shower. As such, everyone else kept as quiet as possible so as not to reach his ears.

"Still, the lieutenant guy was pretty funny, huh?" Fujita couldn't help but say and slightly grin at.

Danio was thinking for a bit then. His face had brightened like a fluorescent light bulb, then dimmed to a lantern running low on oil, and he did it as quickly as a flicker of such a flame. When his face had settled in one place, Claire took notice, "What were you going to say?"

"Well, did you notice how they were so different? The captain and lieutenant, I mean? Captain Kuchiki was very calm and collected the whole time while he barely said anything, and Lieutenant Abarai was doing nearly all the talking and really got into it."

"No, you think so?" Lyn couldn't resist taking a stab with sarcasm before switching back to being serious. "It's like he's using up enough energy for the both of them. I'd say he's been drinking Redbull, but he's not hyper enough."

"Then, what would you consider hyper?" Jaylin questioned her.

"Dunno. Probably someone who's Suzette-ish, but not that extreme."

"Aww, you flatter me."

A.J. turned his head away from the group. "You mean someone like her?"

It was hard to tell what happened first, seeing a pink flash or hearing, "This way Kenny!"

* * *

This kid. All he wanted to do was size up the new comers and Yachiru had them running for hours looking. Of course, by "them", he meant that the girl had been riding piggyback the whole time. Not that he got tired or minded carrying and extra weight, but this was just getting ridiculous. It was like trying to work one of those cheap "GPS's" in the World of the Living. Wait, that was Ichigo and all his friends just on the other side of the wall. His eyes just barely came over it to see them. The other seven must be the new Substitutes.

His little pink-haired friend giggled, "Okay, Kenny, take the next right!"

"Are you crazy? You're sitting on my shoulders. I know you can see that they're in the other direction."

"It's a shortcut."

"You _do_ know that a shortcut is the faster way around, right? Because you say that every time, and still manage to get us lost." When he came right next to where they all stood, he planted his foot by the heel in the ground, wearing a good amount of his shoe away. "What am I doing? There is a much better way to fix this." He bent his arm in and tried to pull it far enough in to touch the girl with his elbow. All ready and wound up, he let all the energy loose on the wall that separated him from his destination, making it bend to his will. It was just a bunch of little pieces of dirt after all, and it's fair to say that he was stronger than dirt. "So, you're the new guys, huh?"

"Looks like it Kenny," she said in the cutest little singsong voice while putting her feet on the ground for the first time in hours.

Two brats, four teens and a woman, not even a residual image of what he was hoping for. There could have at least been a man with them. How was he supposed to fight a group like this?

* * *

Claire, Jaylin, A.J. and Lyn were looking at them up and down trying to figure out what they wanted and how they intended to fix the wall. In the meantime, everyone else was putting their information together.

Danio heard it fall out of his mouth before he could pull it back in."That is _one_ messed up hairdo."

Fujita quickly forgot all about what he said, though. "Are those bells?"

"He must be very strong," Suzette commented.

"He'd have to be to break down a wall," Danio reasoned.

"I was talking about the eye patch."

The lieutenant made an effortless jump from Kenpachi's feet and right to Ichigo's. "Hiiiiii Ichi!"

"Hey Yachiru, what are you doing out here?"

"Kenny wants to know what kind of fresh meat he's getting," her cheeks still a blushing rose color. It never ceased to amaze him how she could just say things like that and not be grim about it.

Kenpachi, however, had no such quirk. "It's too bad, though. I wanted someone with more skill."

"Are you saying that I'm weak?" Claire. Her and her stupid pride.

Kenpachi smirked. "Would you like to prove me wrong?" he challenged while using his thumb to push the hilt farther away from the sheath and expose metal.

Ichigo couldn't sit still at this point. "Hey, Kenpachi! She's just a kid with a temper. Don't take her seriously."

"Stay out of thi- Hey!" It didn't take much to sling her over his shoulders again.

That smile the captain had, softened when Claire's hand went into her small pocket and came out with a six-inch dagger which she pointed at him. She repeatedly stabbed the air like his face was right there. As intriguing as one might find the tree carved into the flat of the blade, Kenpachi took no notice. "What, you're not messing with me, are you?"

"You're the one who suggested the fight," she retorted.

"_Tch_. I don't fight people unless I know that it's going to be entertaining. That little thing of yours won't do anything dangerous to an _unranked_ officer and definitely not to me. See ya."

"Oh come on!" she shouted after him hoping that by some chance he would magically turn around and fight. Understanding that it wasn't going to happen, she thrashed around just like last time. She got herself a little half-miracle when Yachiru looked back and shouted, "Who wants to go to the barracks with us?! I think that Ukki from next door just made rice balls!"

Needless to say, even though no one in the seven (save for Fujita) knew what a rice ball was, they had all skipped breakfast just to be here and were getting ready to miss lunch.

Orihime spoke up, "Guys! I'm not sure that that's such a good idea! She tends to get lost!" Too bad that no one was listening.

"Don't worry about it," Rukia calmed her. "She's talking about _my_ squad. I know where it is."

"To the left Kenny!"

"You came from the other direction!" Rukia shouted back.

"To the right Kenny!"

* * *

I had fun writing this and putting a word goal on really brought out a lot more ideas.

I wasn't planning on adding so many things to this chapter so I think I'll be using this standard from now on.

Thanks again for all of your comments

Enjoy and please review ^_^


	11. Hiatus

The main purpose behind this whole story was just to practice my writing skills, but I was at least hoping to finish the whole thing before I moved on to other projects. What I wasn't expecting was that Kubo Tite would end up using a surprisingly similar thought I had that inspired the whole story, which has effectively killed every thought I had about this fanfic. If you're all caught up with the manga, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Hopefully I'll be able to finish my Fairy Tail fanfic quickly enough so I can move forward with other ideas. Sorry about not finishing this, though. Thanks for all the favorites and reviews. Your support has made me very happy. ^_^


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